Anthropology At FAU!
Anthropology Department Welcomes New Faculty Member
Kate Detwiler
 Kate Detwiler 2
The faculty, staff and students of the Anthropology Department are happy to welcome Dr. Kate Detwiler. Dr. Detwiler joins us as the newest Assistant Professor from teaching assignments at Columbia University and Lehman College in New York City.Â
Dr. Detwiler received her B.S. degree in Biology from Lewiston, Maine, her M.A., M.Phil. and Ph.D. in Anthropology at New York University (NYU). Her research is focused on a relatively new frontier within biological anthropology: the role of hybridization in the evolution and speciation of primates.Â
Dr. Detwiler received grants from the National Science Foundation, the Wenner-Gren Foundation and the Leakey Foundation to fully fund both phases of her dissertation research:Â 19 months of fieldwork in Gombe and other forest sites in East/Central Africa and an intensive laboratory phase at NYU's Molecular Primatology Laboratory.
Dr. Detwiler's research has garnered in her a strong interest in primate conservation and her current postdoctoral research project has her working with conservation scientists Drs. Terese and John Hart monitoring the threat that overhunting for the bushmeat trade has posed to endangered bonobo and monkey populations in the Congo Basin of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Anthropology Department Receives $300,000 Endowment
Longtime benefactress Mrs. Ann Adams very generously ensured her continued support for Mayan and Ecuadorian research with a final bequest of $300,000.
Mrs. Adams was a pioneering professional woman and journalist. After retirement, she maintained a lively and well-educated interest in global and local affairs.
In conjunction with Professor Emeritus Jerry Kennedy, Ms. Adams established the John Q. Adams Maya Fund, which for 15 years supported faculty and students alike in Maya research and studies. Her generous contributions allowed over 90 students to gain research training and experience at the Ecuador Field School.
As stated by department chairperson, Dr. Michael Harris, "We were extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know Mrs. Adams and we are eternally grateful for her support to our department."
Renovation of Historic Hacienda La Tropical
The Department of Anthropology, with a grant from the U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Overseas Development, completed the restoration of the last remaining historic hacienda structure on the coast of Ecuador.
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The house, located in the village of Salango, Manabi Province, was renovated with the collaboration of the Salango Research Center, Ecuador’s Institute for National Cultural Patrimony (INCP) and the community of Salango.
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The once-dilapidated hacienda-style house is the central base of operations for the Salango Research Center, providing storage for archaeological materials and comparative faunal collections.
The reconstruction process was a highly collaborative project, with the FAU Anthropology Department’s Dr. Michael Harris and Ms. Valentina Martinez providing ethnohistoric research and project management, the INPC’s architect Jhony Ugalde providing historic architectural support, and the Salango Research Center recruiting workers from the local area to provide labor for the project.
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The support provided by the Ambassador’s Fund encouraged the Ecuadorian government to fund ancillary projects that enhanced the Research Center’s infrastructure, such as the renovation of the prehistorical museum and bone laboratory, construction of a new archaeological storage facility, and the building of new cabanas and student housing.
The Research Center has been upgraded and will serve as an excellent resource for future researchers along the Ecuadorian coast. The renovated facility will be a great improvement for FAU students participating in the field school. Each summer FAU’s  Anthropology Department brings 15-20 students to Ecuador for training in archaeological and ethnographic research methods. The historic hacienda also provides the community of Salango with a venue for increased tourism.
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Professors Harris and Martinez’ expertise also provided research and display text for an exhibition of Salango’s history, displayed on the second floor of the newly renovated hacienda. Visitors to the Center can now move from the prehistoric museum to the historic exhibit.
The opening ceremony for the hacienda was attended by the US Ambassador to Ecuador, Heather Hodges, the Vice Council from the American Embassy and other embassy personnel, Ms. Inez Pazmino, Director of the Institute for National Cultural Patrimony, the Dean of FAU’s College of Art and Letters, Dr. Manjunath Pendakur and representatives from the Communidad de Salango, with activities which included speeches from representatives of the cooperating institutions and a reception.
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FAU’s Dean Pendakur commented that “This is a wonderful example of collaboration between FAU and international institutions.â€
For a list of activities for the Department's FPAN Center
